1660 THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSE 



and rivers to the southward of the Great Desert 

 including the Senegal, the Gambia, the Congo, and 

 the Gariep. This animal is peculiar to Africa; its 

 teeth consist of the finest ivory, for the sake of which 

 it is hunted by the settlers of the Cape. All three 

 of these animals are used as food by the native races 

 of the South African interior. 



The wild boar is found in some parts of Africa: 

 the zebra, dow, and quagga (all peculiar to this con- 

 tinent) abound in its central and southern regions, 

 particularly in the arid plains in the neighborhood 

 of the Orange River. Of the African Quadrumana, 

 monkeys, baboons, apes, and lemurs abound in the 

 forests throughout every part of the continent. 



The chimpanzee of the western coasts (from the 

 neighborhood of Sierra Leone to the loth parallel 

 of S. latitude) makes nearer approach to the human 

 form than the orang-outang of Southeastern Asia, 

 but is surpassed in this respect by the gorilla, one 

 of the largest of the ape tribe, which inhabits the 

 forests in the neighborhood of the Gaboon River 

 (o 30' N. lat.). 



Bats are numerous in Africa, and most of the spe- 

 cies inhabiting this continent are peculiar to it. The 

 Rodentia are also for the most part of peculiar spe- 

 cies; among them are hares, rabbits, jerboas, squir- 

 rels, rats, and mice. 



Among birds, the ostrich is confined to Africa, but 

 ranges from its southern extremity to the northern 

 borders of the Great Desert. Its feathers form a 

 highly valued article of traffic, and the bird is do- 

 mesticated in many parts of Africa for the sake of 



